This course studies the intersection between critical thinking and persuasive writing, and, using literary texts as the point of reference, takes as its goal the development of the student's skill at writing cogent expository and argumentative prose.

This section of ENGLISH 124 will develop students' ability to read and write both analytically and elegantly by concentrating on the ways composers of texts in various genres use form, structure, and limitation to convey — or in some cases to discover — meaning. Taking our cue from G.K. Chesterton's famous dictum, "The essence of every picture is its frame," we will examine works from various genres, time periods, countries, and even media, covering topics that range from the nature of relativity to the ways a person can die in Nigeria. Along the way we may look at work by some or all of the following folks: Stephen Jay Gould, Marilynne Robinson, Hugh Kenner, Phillis Wheatley, Teju Cole, David Foster Wallace, Emily Dickinson, Zora Neale Hurston, James Joyce, Jean-Luc Godard, Marina Abramovic, J Dilla, Lena Dunham, William Shakespeare, and others. Students can expect to read 20-30 pages per week, to draft and revise four essays, and to confer regularly on each others' writing (which will further develop your ability as readers and self-revisers).

Syllabi are available to current LSA students. IMPORTANT: These syllabi are provided to give students a general idea about the courses, as offered by LSA departments and programs in prior academic terms. The syllabi do not necessarily reflect the assignments, sequence of course materials, and/or course expectations that the faculty and departments/programs have for these same courses in the current and/or future terms.